Janoary 23, 1866. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



71 



In dry hours the cU'iest soil should be housed and well aired 

 for potting and other purposes. The snow acted as a good 

 protection from the frost of Friday night, as everything ex- 

 posed and in cold pits was more tender than usual, owing to 

 the mild sunless weather. Our Calceolarias, &c., were covered 

 up from Wednesday to Monday, and were all right, as a little 

 extra damp would not hurt them. We are having the glass 

 washed, which will make the plants more stubby. Most of 

 them are resting now, and it is quite time enough, for ii they 

 grow fast they wUl be too thick before we shall be able to thin 

 them by planting them in an earth pit without glass protection. 

 Gave plenty of air, without rain, to Violets. WlU soon begin to 

 pot some Scarlet Geraniums that are very close together in 

 boxes. Cleared any dead or damped parts fi-om the tops of 

 those that were taken up from the beds and put in large pots 

 as if they were so many faggots. Most of them are begin- 

 ing to break nicely, owing to the mildness of the weather. If 

 they had done so a month or six weeks later, they would have 

 been early enough. Fresh arranged plant-houses, and wiD have 

 a lot of potting done if this dripping weather continue. All 

 the houses are kept at about the temperatures mentioned lately. 



HINTS TO BEGINNERS AND WINDOW GAKDENEES. 



There are a few matters to which, in addition to what was 

 said lately as respects bulbs and forced plants, we would 

 respectfully direct the attention of beginners and window 

 gardeners. 



1st, Endeavour to have all glass and woodwork clean. Clean 

 water with the chill taken off is often the best, as if much soap 

 is used the alkali is apt to make havoc with the paint. A little 

 brown soap will do no harm. 



2nd, Let aU pots be scrubbed clean with a brush, and a little 

 sand, if very dirty. It is safest to use nothing but clean soft 

 water for this scrubbing. Never on any accoimt put a bulb or 

 a plant into an old pot that has not been well washed inside 

 and outside, and then allowed to di'y before using it. Even 

 rubbing the inside of the pot with a dry scrub is a poor sub- 

 stitute for washing. If many pots are very dirty, they may be 

 soaked some hours before washing, the water poured off, and 

 warm water, to be comfortable, used, and, on the whole, simple 

 water is the best. A little soda or potash may be added, if the 

 pots are very dirty, but in the case of soft pots such ingredients 

 cling to them a long time. 



3rd, Keep all leaves and stems of plants, and especially in 

 windows, free of dust, and if it settle on them, brush and then 

 wash it oft. A bath will be of importance to the tops of window 

 plants, as it will help to neutralise the dry atmosphere of a 

 sitting-room. There is no better plan for washing the heads 

 of plants of moderate size, than having two pails or tubs filled 

 with clean water at a temperature of from 60° to 70°. If the 

 plants are very dusty, brush the foliage with a soft brush when 

 dry, then place a cloth on the top of the pot, and with the 

 fingers of the left hand spread over and holding the pot, reverse 

 the head of the plant in the water, pulling it backwards and 

 forwards several times, and then set the pot on the floor with 

 the head in the usual position, and wash leaves and stem with 

 a soft sponge until you learn to use the fingers and thumbs of 

 both hands, which may be appUed softly and quickly to both 

 sides of the leaf. Then swinge the head again through the 

 same pail, and if that leave it pretty clean, pass it once more 

 through the clean water-pail, and the appearance of the plant 

 wiU be more than a reward. The cloth and fingers over the 

 surface of the pot will prevent the earth falling out, and the 

 cloth will prevent the earth being soaked in the cleansing 

 operation. 



4th, Pay great attention to having the soil rather di-y, warm, 

 and weU-aired before using it for potting. Those who want so 

 much as to have a small stack of this pared turf, and thatched 

 with itself by tiuming the grass side outwards, will only have 

 a minimum of care in having the soil aired, as if such turf is 

 built in a narrow ridge and somewhat open, the air will enter 

 sufiiciently to sweeten it in six months or so, without turning 

 ■or anything of that sort. There is scarcely the side of a high- 

 way where nice soil suitable for all common plants may not be 

 had. 



Lastly, in watering in winter and spring, the water should 

 only be given as wanted, and if the fires in a room are pretty 

 strong and the sun bright, a sprinkling over the top will often 

 be better than saturating and deluging at the roots, Wlien a 

 sunny day comes after a week or a fortnight of dull weather the 

 shade of a muslin curtain for a few hours will often be better 

 than watering. When, however, the soil is dry, watering for a 



potful of roots should be given so as to moisten all these roots. 

 The water should be soft, and as warm or a few degrees warmer 

 than the atmosphere of the house or room. For particular 

 plants it is best that the water should be warmed, without 

 taking hot water out of a metal boiler to mix with cold water, 

 as in some such cases there is too much of an oxide or other 

 salt of iron in the water. We have known Ferns A-c, injured by 

 watering with water taken from the cistern of hot-water pipes 

 in a forcing-house. We are often glad, however, to go to such 

 places in winter and spring when warmed water must be had. 

 A great advantage, even in large gardens, would be either a large 

 copper for heating water alone, and boiling manure water, and 

 then cooling it before using it, or a large cistern with a coil of 

 hot-water pipes at the bottom, so that the water would be 

 heated without being affected by the rust of the iron inside the 

 pipes. For window plants a tin pitcher or an earthenware 

 vessel might be set by the fireplace. For most common plants 

 a little hot water from the kitchen boiler, to mix with the soft 

 water, though cold, will answer weU enough ; but it is right that 

 the cultivator of a single plant should know the best mode of 

 securing water that has had the chill taken fi-om it. — R. F. 



TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 



Barr & Sugden, 12, King Street, Covent Garden, London. — 

 Descrijjtivc List of Choice Seeds for Flower and Kitchen 

 Gardens. 



W. Cutbush & Son, Highgate, Loudon, N. — Catalogue of 

 Vegetable, Flower, and Farm Seeds. 



Hooper & Co., Central Avenue, Covent Garden, Loudon. — 

 General Spring Catalogue. 



R. Parker, Exotic Nursery, Tooting, Surrey. — Catalogue of 

 Agricultural, Flower, and Vegetable Seeds, Fruit Trees, New 

 and Rare Plants, d'c. 



William Paul, Paul's Nurseries and Seed Warehouse, Wal- 

 tham Cross, London, N. — Select List of Vegetable, Flower, and 

 Agricultural Seeds, Seed Potatoes, dx. — Price Listof Paterson's 

 Seedling Potatoes. 



Charles Turner, Royal Nurseries, Slough. — Catalogue of 

 Seeds for the Kitchen Garden, the Flower Garden, and the 

 Farm. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET^Januaby 20. 



Good dessert Apples and'Pears find plenty of buyers ; but the supply 

 is limited. Pines are suiEcient for the demand, as also are Grapes; 

 some good Black Hamburghs are still to be had, but the bulk consists of 

 Barb arossa, which commands nearly the same price. Forced Straw- 

 berri es have not yet made their appearance. Among foreign imports are 

 Green Peas from Spain and Algeria ; consignments from France chiefly 

 consist of Salads, Artichokes, and Asparagus, the latter selUng at from 

 25.?. to S5s. per bundle. Greens of all kinds are very abundant and cheap. 

 Good samples of Potatoes are saleable at a trifling advance on fortner 

 quotations. 



FRUIT. 



s. d. B. d 



Apples i sieve 2 6to4 



Apricots doz. 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuts bush. 8 16 



Currants, Eed J sieve 



Black do. 



Figs doz. 



FUberts lb. 



Cobs 100 lbs. 160 



Gooseberries. . i sieve 



Grapes, Hambro.. . lb. 6 10 



Muscats lb. 10 15 



Lemons 100 6 10 



s. d. s. d 



Melons each 3 5 



Mulberries punnet 



Nectarines doz. 



Oranges 100 4 10 



Peaches doz. 



Pears (kitchen) . . doz. 2 4 



dessert doz. 16 6 



Pine Apples lb. 6 10 



Plums i sieve 



Quinces | sieve 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries lb. 



















Walnuts bush 14 20 



VEGETABLES. 



s. d. s. d 



Artichokes each 6 too 



Asparagus bundle 8 12 



Beans Broad., bushel 



Kidney 100 3 4 



Beet, P.ed doz. 2 3 



Broccoli bundle 10 2 



Brus. Sprouts.. J sieve 2 S 



Cabbage doz. I 0. 2 



Capsicums lOO 



CaiTots hunch, 4 8 



CauUflower dd^. 4 8 



Celery tiliwUe 10 2 



Cucumbers. each 2 3 



picHling .... doz. 0000 



Endive score 10 2 



Fennel bunch 3 



GarlicaodShallots,lb. 8 



Herbs ...'..... bunch 0300 



JJof aersfUsS . . tunas u « 4 o 



Lecka ........ bunch 



Lettuce per score 



IVJushrooms pottle 



Mustd. & Cress, punnet 

 Onions per bushel 



pickling quart 



Parsley 4 sieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Radishes . . doz. hands 



Rhubarb bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Sea-kale basket 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes ^ sieve 



Turnips bunch 



Vegetable Marrows dz. 



s. d. s. d 

 3 too 



2 

 



1 6 

 1 6 





 3 

 

 6 

 



